Lipscomb University President Randy Lowry speaks during a Family of Abraham meeting at the First Presbyterian Church on Thursday. / Karen Kraft / The Tennessean

Written by

Bob Smietana

The Tennessean

Lipscomb University President Randy Lowry addresses a meeting of the Family of Abraham, a local interfaith group, at the First Presbyterian Church on August 22, 2013, in Nashville. / Karen Kraft / The Tennessean

More

ADVERTISEMENT

As a college president, Randy Lowry can’t always afford to be tolerant.

“Anything goes” is not a sustainable philosophy for a community or a college campus — because it would end in chaos, Lowry told an interfaith gathering at First Presbyterian Church on Thursday night.

Still, he said, every human being was created by God and deserves to be treated with respect.

“There is a difference between being tolerant and being gracious,” he said.

Lowry, president of Lipscomb University, was the guest speaker at the meeting of the Family of Abraham, which drew about 200 people on Thursday. He drew on his experience as a mediator and an educator during a speech about building relationships in a diverse culture.

Building those relationships works best when people acknowledge that they don’t always see eye to eye.

He told the crowd of Christians, Jews, Muslims, Bahai’s and nonbelievers that they should be honest about their differences.

“The reality is that we are not the same,” he said. “There is something refreshing about saying that.”

Overcoming obstacles

He also told them that fear was the first obstacle to meaningful conversation. Dealing with people’s fears first can lead to deeper conversations, he said.

Then he told them to focus on their interests — the things they really care about — rather the issues that divide them.

Finally, he said, “practice hospitality.”

During his speech, Lowry wove in stories from his years as a mediator in the court systems in Los Angeles and in mediating conflict in India, Israel and Kenya.

His lessons about resolving conflict were hard-won, he said.

Before coming to Lipscomb, Lowry was director of the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at the Pepperdine University School of Law.

“People never called when things were going well,” he said.

Iris Buhl, one of the event’s organizers, said the group had decided to invite Lowry as a speaker after the bombing at the Boston Marathon earlier this year. Organizers wanted to get more insight into what causes conflict.

“We wanted to hear from an educator,” she said.

Buhl, who calls herself a secular humanist, said she joined the interfaith group because she values religious freedom. People should be free to believe whatever they want, she said.

“When that breaks down, I want to jump in and help,” she said.

After Lowry’s speech, a three-person panel gave responses.

Caroline Blackwell of the Metro Human Relations Commission told the audience that relationships start with conversation. If people don’t talk about the things they value, they won’t be able to build community.

She said she grew up in a church but now doesn’t consider herself religious. In the South, she said, that causes some people to view her with suspicion.

“People can be faithful, ethical and moral even if they don’t claim a God.”

Amir Arain, a Vanderbilt neurologist and president of the Islamic Center, said fear can prevent the human brain from functioning properly. When people are fearful, he said, they literally can’t think straight.

He said religious people have to give up the idea that their particular view of faith is the only one.

“God created us so we could be in competition to do good deeds,” he said.